Rehab centre told to state facilities

KOLHAPUR: The division bench of Justice Jagdish Singh Khehar and Justice R K Agrawal of the Supreme Court (SC) on May 9 ordered the Wildlife Rescue and Rehabilitation Centre (WRRC) in Bangalore to clarify the manner in which 14-year-old elephant Sunder would be housed at the centre.

Meanwhile, the forest department started the process of shifting Sunder and conducting medical tests on Monday.

The apex court order, a copy of which is with TOI, came after Member of Legislative Assembly Vinay Kore, who is taking care of the animal, went to the SC demanding a stay on the Bombay High Court's directives to the state to release Sunder and put him in a sanctuary. Kore, in a letter addressed to the court, also raised the issue of the capacity of the centre to provide facilities to Sunder.

The HC had passed its order in April in response to a petition filed by People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), India. The plea sought implementation of an order dated August 21, 2012, passed by the joint secretary (forests), Government of Maharashtra, to release the young elephant to a sanctuary.

Accordingly, the state forest department has started the process of relocating the animal to WRRC. The department called veterinary experts to check the animal's health at Warnanagar in Panhala taluka, 25 km from Kolhapur, on Monday.

Kolhapur deputy conservator of forests Vijay Shelke told TOI, "Sunder's health is okay and he can now be shifted according to the HC directives." However, he declined to comment on the medical tests and the health report, terming it confidential.

Another forest official, who was present during the medical check-up, said, "The doctors checked Sunder's musth gland and found that he was not in musth (a periodic condition in bull (male) elephants, characterized by highly aggressive behaviour and accompanied by rise in reproductive hormones). Captive bull elephants become highly aggressive from frustration when they are in musth. So Sunder is now ready to be transferred."

The HC had ordered to shift Sunder to the rehabilitation centre before the onset of monsoon. According to forest officials, the elephant would be shifted any time in the next 20 days.

The Jotiba temple was granted possession of Sunder in 2007, but after it came to light that was being chained and beaten up constantly, Maharashtra minister of forests Dr Patangrao Kadam (on August 21, 2012) and the Project Elephant division of the Union ministry of environment and forests (on November 9, 2012) issued orders for his release to a sanctuary.

The SC has scheduled a hearing on May 29 and has directed PETA and the state to file an affidavit in reply to Kore's demand to stay the HC directives.

Kore said, "We will plead to the SC to revoke the stay granted by the HC as PETA has campaigned to release Sunder based on wrong facts. The animal is quite healthy and has not been tortured. Also, we will plead that since Sunder is used to his surroundings, it would be a blunder to shift him to any other place."